When McCracken County Sheriff's Deputy Trent Hardin arrived at the scene of a wreck Wednesday night where a vehicle had driven off the road and into a flooded creek, he said he knew time was of the essence.

"When I first pulled up, at the edge of the bridge over the creek he was in, I could see the vehicle, and the water was probably half way up the driver's side window," he said. "I could see (the driver) inside the vehicle. He was sitting in the driver's seat as straight up as he could sit and the water was touching his chin, and I could tell he had obvious facial injuries."

Jason Lampley, 37, of Paducah had been driving a 2004 Dodge Neon north near the 8900 block of New Hope Road when the wreck occurred.

Deputies said as Lampley approached a curve, the vehicle hydroplaned, causing it to drive off the road and fall about 15 feet into a creek swollen from the recent rain.

"I immediately started taking my gear off," Hardin said. "I knew I was going to have to jump in the water. I got in the water and approached the driver's side door where I briefly spoke to (Lampley)."

Hardin said at that point the current was so strong and the water was so high he knew there wasn't much time to get Lampley out.

"When I was standing beside the vehicle, the water was well up to my chest, almost to my chin," he said. "The current was so strong going underneath the vehicle that it was trying to suck my feet out from under me so I climbed onto the top of the car."

That's when Deputy Jerry Jones and Sgt. Todd Ray arrived.

"When I got there, I could hear Dep. Hardin yelling for us to get down there," Ray said. "We shucked off our electronic gear and dove into the water.

"The current was extremely swift, trying to suck us under the vehicle. We knew we were going to have to get him out. The water was pretty much up to his chin and at that point the water was still rising."

The deputies said they made their way to the vehicle's driver's side door to see if it could be opened. It couldn't.

"There was a tremendous amount of water pressure," Ray said. "I couldn't open the door, as hard as I was pulling, and I am 6-4 and about 280 pounds."

While assessing the situation, the deputies said they feared the car might shift or break loose and get swept away in the current, taking the driver and them with it.

"At one point there was a piece of drift or something that hit the front of the car right by where I was, and at that point I thought the car might go," Jones said. "It put a definite sense of urgency into solving the problem and getting him out."

Together, the officers decided they would break out the vehicle's sunroof and pull Lampley out through the top of the vehicle.

Hardin, who was on top of the vehicle, said he kept talking to Lampley, telling him to stay calm.

"I just kept reassuring him that we were going to get him out," Hardin said. "In a situation like that, where the car could be swept away or fill up with water, it was vital that we got him out of that car as quickly as possible."

The deputies instructed Lampley to close his eyes and look down and, using a tool with a ceramic tip, they broke out the sunroof, grabbed hold of Lampley's right arm and pulled him out.

Hardin said it was clear Lampley was hurt and that moving him was a risk, but in that situation it was what had to be done.

"We kept assuring him at that point that pain was a good thing, that it meant he was alive and that we were going to take care of him," Hardin said.

Hardin said from what he could see Lampley had deep lacerations on his face and head, as well as a visibly broken left arm and a severe fracture to his right leg.

Lampley was strapped to a backboard, loaded into a basket and, with the help of the Lone Oak Fire Department, was lifted out of the creek.

Lampley was treated by EMS personnel at the scene and taken to Baptist Health Paducah. He was later transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where, according to a hospital spokesperson, he remains in stable condition.